Clermont Takes New Stab At Lake Cleanup

The City Will Build Retention Ponds To Hold Runoff That Pollutes A Downtown Fixture.

February 5, 2004|By Robert Sargent, Sentinel Staff Writer

CLERMONT -- A popular gateway to downtown is scheduled for a nearly quarter-million-dollar environmental makeover.

Center Lake has struggled for years with polluted runoff that flows in from surrounding streets and developments with each big storm. Now the city is planning large retention areas to divert some of the runoff and help restore the small water body.

"The entrance to the downtown area gets a lot of interest," City Manager Wayne Saunders said. "We're trying to get it to look good and at the same time be a healthy lake."

The Lake County Water Authority recently agreed to cover about half of the estimated $230,000 cost. Clermont will pay the rest.

The project will put a large retention pond to collect storm water from nearby State Road 50. A long swale -- a shallow ditch -- surrounding Center Lake will capture runoff from other directions.

The collection areas help to clean out pollutants such as oil, metal and sediments by allowing runoff to soak into the ground before it reaches the lake.

The city has been working to fix problems at Center Lake since the late 1990s. Saunders said the city once had to relocate dozens of Muscovy ducks to prevent droppings from adding to the pollution problem.

Another project removed as much as a foot of muck from the lake bottom to clean up the area and increase the amount of water it could hold. That took several months to complete because heavy summer rains in 2001 slowed work.

Clermont then planned to build retention ponds away from Center Lake. But the idea proved too costly and too difficult, so late last year officials opted to treat storm water at the site.

Water Authority officials said on-site ponds would remove pollution less efficiently -- in part because the swales would be flooded by the lake for at least three months of the year. The agency nonetheless approved the project changes last week, allowing Clermont more time to complete construction.

"A lot of people want to see water quality improved," said Lance Lumbard, the Water Authority's water-resource manager. "Even some treatment is better than none at all."